CONTENTS. Page. IMMIGRANT HOMES AND AID SOCIETIES. Immigrants to the United States generally come to relatives or friends who have preceded them. When these relatives or friends fail to meet the immigrants on arrival, or to send the necessary funds to enable them to continue the journey to their destinations, the immigration authorities deal with the problem presented in one of two ways: Either the immigrants are debarred, i. e., sent back to Europe, as likely to become public charges, or they are placed with someone whom the authorities consider trustworthy to be cared for until such time as they may secure employment or be called for by relatives or friends. At Ellis Island immigrants whose friends or relatives fail to call for them on arrival are detained five days, and if at the end of that time no friends or relatives have called, the immigrants are given the choice of leaving the immigrant station in company with a missionary or representative of some philanthropic or religious society or returning to Europe. In order to afford such immigrants the opportunity of landing and also to help them and other aliens to avoid dangers that are likely to be encountered, certain philanthropic and religious societies have undertaken the work of assisting immigrants upon their arrival at the various large ports of this country. These societies, by special permission of the Government, send missionaries and representatives, the majority of whom are of the races they are employed to assist, to the immigrant stations and to the Government's detention rooms for the purpose of aiding incoming immigrants in every necessary and proper way. In the furtherance of this object many of the societies establish homes where the immigrants may be temporarily lodged and cared for. DISCHARGE OF IMMIGRANTS TO IMMIGRANT HOMES AND AID SOCIETIES. The act of permitting an immigrant to leave the immigrant station is called "discharging" him, and when he leaves the station in care of another person he is said to be discharged to that person. The person to whom he is discharged is theoretically held responsible by the authorities to the extent that the immigrant will not become a public charge. Although there are a great many different, circumstances that impel the authorities to discharge immigrants to missionaries and representatives, there seem to be but three general classes of immigrants who are discharged in this way in great numbers: (1) Immigrants whose friends and relatives fail to meet them at the immigrant station and whom the authorities do not deem it wise to land unless some one becomes responsible for their proper care; (2) immi grants who are without sufficient money to enable them to reach their destinations and who must therefore be cared for until the necessary funds are forthcoming; (3) immigrants, particularly women and girls, who have no friends or relatives in this country and are in need of a home where they may stay until they secure employment. There is no provision of law authorizing the admission of persons to the immigrants at the immigrant stations for the purpose of doing missionary work of any kind, and the presence of missionaries and representatives at the immigrant stations and the selection of the institutions which may be represented there are largely matters of local administration and rest with the commissioner in charge of each station. At Ellis Island, in the calendar year 1907, over 14,800 immigrants were discharged to missionaries and representatives by the New York discharging division. As the commissioners of immigration and the boards of special inquiry also discharged immigrants, these figures do not represent the total number placed in the care of immigrant homes and aid societies. One home provided 5,378 men, 1,822 women, and 60 children with board and lodging in 1907, and of this number 922 men, 1,062 women, and 34 children were intrusted to the home by the immigration authorities. At the other immigrant stations, the commissioners of immigration stated that they discharged comparatively few immigrants to missionaries and representatives. One of the commissioners said that the number of immigrants discharged at his station would not average more than two per week. It is to be noted, however, that even at the ports where few immigrants were discharged to missionaries and representatives, these persons had free access to the immigrants at the landing stations and, in some instances, in the detention rooms. In view of the fact that the work of immigrant homes and aid societies is generally recognized by the immigration authorities as an important and necessary one, it is somewhat surprising to find that in a good many instances little selective discretion is exercised by the authorities in granting to these organizations the special governmental privilege of representation at the immigrant station. The commissioner at one station stated that this privilege of representation was given to all persons who wished to do missionary work at the station and in the detention rooms, as long as these missionaries and representatives did not quarrel with one another or attempt to proselyte. One official remarked that sometimes there were more missionaries than immigrants at the station. At another station, the authorities stated that almost any organization wishing representation was granted a pass, but that the organizations asking for the privilege stated the qualifications of their representatives and always chose good people. The authorities at one station made the statement that almost any organization was allowed to send missionaries and representatives to the station, but that only three women, one of whom was the manager of an immigrant home, were allowed to visit the detention rooms. The authorities at one station (where, in June, 1908, there were 87 missionaries and representatives maintained by 41 organizations), in granting this privilege of representation, seemed to place most emphasis on the condition that all services rendered at the station |